Afghan military leaders have agreed on the need for a national army as the country struggles to end violence between regional warlords.
The first national military meeting since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 brought together regional commanders, government leaders and commanders of US-led forces pursuing remnants of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
In a statement at the end of the two-day meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence said all participants had agreed to work closely with central government for "the common defence of the nation and in building a new national army."
Efforts to rebuild Afghanistan since the Taliban's fall have been marred by clashes between forces loyal to rival warlords. The interim administration of President Hamid Karzai aims to create a national army of 70,000 by 2009 to replace regional militias.
It plans to launch a campaign to start disarming and demobilising an estimated 100,000 factional fighters in July. The Ministry of Defence said the meeting had agreed that the national army should draw on all ethnic groups and provinces in order to win the trust of the whole country. A strong central corps should be based in Kabul, it added.
"There is also strong support among commanders for building units of the new Afghan National Army in areas outside Kabul as soon as possible," the statement continued. In the meantime, existing militia would continue to play a role.
Analysts say Karzai faces an uphill battle in creating a national army and disarming factional fighters, despite support from France, the United States and Britain in training an army and the backing of the United Nations for the disarmament drive.
The United States, whose local commander Lieutenant-General Dan McNeill attended the Kabul conference, has been criticised for making this task more difficult by employing regional militias in the United States' "war on terror".
The build-up of a national force has been hampered by a lack of funding and recruits. Only a few thousand soldiers have gone through training and some have since left the ranks. The government is hoping to have a central corps of around 10,000 in place the middle of next year, when national elections are due to be held.